Who thought this would be a close one? The Timberwolves only have 10 wins on the season, but there were two factors in making this a 2-point game. Kevin Garnett didn’t play, and the T-Wolves are littered with former Celtics looking for revenge. That nasty formula translates to a 88-86 win thanks to a last-second layup by Leon Powe!

Ray Allen finished with a team-high 18 points and made it all happen on the last play. The score was tied 86-86 and overrated guard Marko Jaric took the shot with about 10 seconds left (6 left on the shot clock) so no matter what Minnesota couldn’t have the last play. The ball took a strange bounce and was corralled by Craig Smith, who tossed it wildly back to his teammates. Ray Allen stole the ball on the fly with about 5 seconds left and sped down the court and went for the layup, but was fouled hard and couldn’t get a shot up (no call). Allen was trailed by Powe who grabbed the ball and laid it in as time expired. What a play!

The Celtics trailed at the end of every quarter in this one, but managed to make up the deficit in the final frame, outscoring the T-Wolves by 6 for the victory. The hero was Leon Powe, who finished 16 points and 8 rebounds. He has really come on strong lately, taking away a lot of minutes from Glen “Big Baby” Davis. I wonder if Davis may be a little banged up, but that doesn’t matter right now if Powe is playing at such a high level.

Let’s check out how all the former Celtics did for the Timberwolves tonight:

PLAYER

MIN

PTS

REB

AST

STL

BLK

Al Jefferson

37

18

9

2

3

2

Ryan Gomes

26

13

6

0

0

0

Sebastian Telfair

23

2

5

6

0

0

Antoine Walker

13

3

4

2

2

0

Gerald Green (DNP)

–

–

–

–

–

–

The Timberwolves really played us hard this year. It’s almost as if Al Jefferson is still hurt for being traded away for Kevin Garnett. He’s been a great player this year and if the Wolves were doing better, he’d definitely be an all-star. He’s going to be very good for many years.

One odd thing is another DNP for Gerald Green. He was vastly-talented coming out of the draft, and he still has a lot of talent, but he never plays. On a 10-win team, I’d give him the opportunity to shine, at least as a sixth man. I feel like he’s never going to make it to even 10 ppg in the NBA. Give him a chance, T-Wolves!

All I know is that a win’s a win, and we escaped both games against Minnesota by 1 point (87-86 win on 1/26) and 2 points respectively. The Celtics also improved to 15-0 against the Western Conference this season. They’ll look to continue that win streak against the San Antonio Spurs this Sunday. This will be the truest test of the season, and rumor has it that Kevin Garnett may play in this game. Stay tuned.